( in loving memory of JPR)
Nowhere to go, is this a bonus feed
Maybe a curse, although it’s too grandstanding
Born into nothing, I’ve got nowhere to proceed
As if I fly too high to care about the landing
In fact, it was much simpler in reality
Dystopian curators were too lazy
And too corrupted to maintain the trad brutality
Corruption is godsent when rules are crazy
So I felt free and acted loosely, dear friend
But times again were changing their course
Much faster, but I got them in the end
No wisdom’s wiser than that smile of yours..
with dusk approaching
the radiance of the day
melts in the rain
streetlights smear
the autumn colours
across the footpaths
doubling the display
of chromatic foliage
autumn gloats
AP: Honorable Mention 2025, Honorable Mention 2025
gigantic girlish ghouls gathered at Gate’s gazebo
glabrous ghouls glistening grotesque globs of gloom
gothic goldbricking good-for-nothing gossips on the go
green-eyed grandstanding grifters, guests of green groom.
Administrator incommunicado
Acknowledging nymphomaniacs
Reclassifying philosophical
Ideologically Transcultural
Pronunciation Calligraphers
Communication demilitarized
Grandstanding orchestration
Carpetbagging adjudications
Redistributed improprieties
Abolitionists brinksmanship
Sarcastically realistically
Craftsmanship flabbergasted
Enlightenment librarianship
Democratically
We're HARD. We're HUMAN. We're HARD.
Hard on ourselves, hard on each other.
Mirrored faces, reflecting
the same goddamn questions:
Who are you?
Who am I?
What's the point of this mess?
We chart the stars,
map the deep,
but can't find our damnway
out of this labyrinth of flesh and bone.
The self, a phantom,
a fleeting shadow
in the flickering candlelight of our minds.
We build walls of reason,
but stumble,
tripping over the invisible wires
of our own making.
Chaos!
Symphony of joy and pain,
a heart's erratic beat,
a soul's relentless rhythm,
the constant hum of being... human.
Don't look for answers in the books,
in the theories, the philosophies,
and the intellectual grandstanding.
The truth is right here,
pulsing in the messy,
complicated,
everyday life.
We ARE the mystery!
The key,
the universe,
the single soul,
the labyrinth,
the echo,
the shadow,
the heart,
the fire,
the question,
the answer...
...and we're just getting started.
Give up the thought
of impressing me
I losted interest in what you do
aint uncommon in relationships
let's be real and
keep this true
don't ssay I'm grandstanding
beleive me I aint
tryna one up you
Keep me should be your priorty
instead you got me
begging and chasing you
Doorbell ringing
who's at the door
I had to pickup your underwear
off the floor
aint done nothing but you sleep all day
and refuse to listen to what I say
Ole Gal coming to borrow
flour and tea
Mean Ole broad
snorls and grunts at me
All that yeah girl ya'll
gossiping
Tabloid Tooties knows
everything
We got a room
to stay after
the theather
tryna vacate some of this
grime away
I don't wanna be mean or bitter
after all you my
Lady
love you in everyway
but I be glad
when this faze of our
relalationship is over
People troubling us everyday
stresses of us together
can't let my ego get in the way
Said I love you
and I aint want nothing
Said I cared and and meant
every word
I enjoyed our time together
Loved what we saw
And I chersihed every word
Out with infighting and lack of general respect,
Let’s restore our Congressional reputation
Rank partisanship and grandstanding
While padding their own coffers, I expect!
Let’s rid ourselves of all the current trolls
“Let’s throw the bums out,” it has been said,
Not a one of them worth saving, I suspect.
Better off with zombies at the controls.
Let’s start by ditching Mitch; Pelosi, too,
Right down to the bottom of the barrel
Grifters, the shysters, and arrogant fools
Send McCarthy and Schumer to Timbuktu.
Greene, and Gaetz, and dummy Gohmert
Publicity hounds and holier-than-thous
Let’s start with a clean slate this year
Out with Cruz, Cotton, and Lauren Boebert.
Repubs and Dems—all those fat cats alike,
We need to start with a clean slate now
Hire those who will make government run
Let’s tell Madison Cawthorn to take a hike.
All of them! – I’ve just named a very few
But I can’t think of a single one I’d keep,
Clear out the entire House and the Senate
We need to clean up this despicable zoo!
HONORABLE MENTION
"Religion or Politics No. 7" Poetry Contest
All Poetry.com
April 24, 2022
Written April 9, 2022
You may well ask where am I,
Am I engaged or fully checked out,
Take a seat, happy to clarify,
Placate your mind, dispel any doubt.
I'm Biding my time and that's not a joke,
Giving the old guy time to implode,
He's senile and tired, befuddled and woke,
Any wires remaining will for sure overload.
The Border is crumbling, COVID runs wild,
Afghanistan gone, China supreme,
Kamala in hiding, lost and beguiled,
Progressives now surging their wishlist extreme.
Nancy grandstanding, Chuck babbling loud,
Cuomo shot down, who would have known,
Just goes to show it's good to be proud,
If your cover is solid and not wholly blown.
I'm mulling and watching disasters untold,
Inflation unbridled, crime running wild,
The Media's support from lukewarm to cold,
Uncle Joe's moods ever more riled.
Well may you ask why I seldom now speak.
The answer is simple and easy to grasp,
Time is my friend as you see week by week,
And eventually bites like a poisonous Asp.
I see trouble on the near horizon--
A nation divided just is not couth,
Unfortunately, reason is wizen
Frivolous theories accepted as truth,
Intentionally misguiding our youth
Disgraceful political grandstanding,
Foundation institutions crash-landing
News media is shaping opinions,
Honestly, journalism notwithstanding
Common folks now political minions.
written August 13, 2021
In with a bang out with a whimper
An American story reminiscent of old,
Brashness and vigor, street smart and temper,
Rising to greatness then collapsing stone-cold.
How could this happen in this day and age,
Have we not learned from lessons long taught,
But there lies the moral, we gave him the stage,
His victory gifted, neither stolen nor bought.
The reasons were many, the anger profound,
The swamp and it's dwellers entitled and deaf,
Their smugness alone caused Trump to be crowned,
With neither side listening, as each out of breath.
But what of the Media, greedy and loud,
They built up the story their coffers to fill,
This great institution at one time so proud
Debasing core standards their audience to thrill.
What next may we ask, back to the same?
Politicians grandstanding, jostling for power,
Caring little for action, just personal fame,
Riding the airways, seizing the hour.
Enough of this folly, time to unite,
Reason and truth need blossom anew,
Our democracy young, our future still bright,
Faith in our system we must now renew.
Those Earthlings are at it again
Oh goody, let's listen in...
"Your brazen actions endanger the public welfare."
"Your unconstitutional actions constitute warfare!"
My, but they sure do go after each other
You'd think they'd try to work together as brothers
"Your political grandstanding is purely barbarian."
"Your heavy-handed directives are totalitarian."
Oh, here they go with their name-calling again
Yes. Their immaturity knows no end
And haven't we actually heard all this before?
For sure. Before each of their stupid wars
"Well if you try that, I assure you there will be consequences."
"Wutcha gonna do? Put us behind barbed-wire fences?"
Wow. I 've heard enough, haven't you?
Yup. Let's give 'em another thousand years or two...
I’m confused
At times bemused
By the turn society’s taking,
Sexuality so complex
Gender needing further context
All my preconceptions breaking.
Are cows good
On this we brood
Carbon footprint the new quandary,
Should we fly
Or cycling try
A simpler world I recall fondly.
Left or Right
The current fight
Politicians all grandstanding,
Little caring
Overbearing
Of our hearts and minds demanding.
To take part
Is quite an art
Every word now needing measure,
Opinions rue
So fast to sue
No surprise the past I treasure.
It starts out and ends up with Love
for a partner you think the world of
Yet the middle poses daily tests
where the verdict of a marriage rests
To list all these tests would take a book
So let's just take the briefest look
At qualities you'll need in spades
To earn yourselves a passing grade
Acceptance I feel is number one
It keeps a marriage healthy, fun
Use it when you learn that 'perfection'
Is a goal wise couples shun
Next comes mutual respect, understanding
Never accomplished by grandstanding
Always respect each other's space and privacy
Know when hugs are needed, or a gentle "I see"
One last quality that's key is good cheer and optimism
Loving greetings and goodbyes - never negativism
Encourage, inspire and support; lend a helping hand
Cultivate all this and Love ~ even marriage can withstand
So many words, such boring waffle
Posturing peacocks, whispering snakes,
Actions so twisted doubtful if lawful
A bunch of connivers, dithering flakes.
In the House which they rule
They pointed and frowned
Lectures unending as if back at school,
Comments unwelcomed, arguments drowned.
Then to the Senate the matter was sent
Pelosi's grandstanding the Media in tow,
Swaying opinion her only intent
Her hands animated, her face all aglow.
But Mitch was just waiting,
Lurking, knives drawn,
Biding his time skillfully baiting,
For he had the Queen, they just the Pawn.
Here comes their bleating
Lost sheep wailing foul
They accuse us of cheating
Which makes me just howl.
Boy I like winning
It's such a huge high,
I so can't stop grinning
While watching them cry.
Now the deal's done
This farce put to bed,
I'll continue to stun
As I forge way ahead
They thought they could win
By playing the part
But if acting's a sin
I've mastered that art.
Another four years
Of me and my tribe,
No matter their tears
To me they'll subscribe.
Whispers and innuendo,
Partisan politics tearing us apart,
Grandstanding and deflection,
Are we not placing the horse before the cart?
A divisive President
This much we all agree,
But our actions matter,
This surely we must see.
Impeachment is not the answer
When facts are merely ploys,
Interpreted, discarded,
Like a child’s forgotten toys.
Democrats all shouting,
Republicans dismayed,
Eye rolls and bluster,
Each entrenched not to be swayed.
Forgotten the crumbling bridges,
The misery of those without a roof,
Healthcare that’s little caring,
Policies enacted on the hoof.
Progressives on soap boxes,
Berating us to change our ways,
Ditch the cars, eat just plants
You haven’t years, but merely days.
Conservatives all hiding,
Resistance the key word,
Dig more coal, farm those parks,
Their inverted thinking so absurd.
Are we all this angry
That reason we can’t find.
Have our senses dissipated
To the point of turning blind?
What legacy our children,
A society torn apart,
Our moral compass lost,
A sail-less boat without a chart.
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